


Crimson Lilies

by APencilinherhand



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-02-13 18:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21498460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APencilinherhand/pseuds/APencilinherhand
Summary: The strong, invincible heroine he knew was unrecognizable in her crumpled form. She looked already dead. She might be. No. Chat Noir couldn’t think of losing her or he’d lose himself too.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, ladynoir
Kudos: 16





	1. Crimson Lilies pt. 1

Her gloved fingers dragged down his face leaving a trail of red. “Paris needs you,” she whispered. “Go.”

Rain pounded against his shoulders as he curled around her, trying to protect her from anything he could. All the pain and suffering. All the mistakes he’d made. He’d been too slow, too weak. Someone got to her before he could stop them. He could feel her breaths getting fainter. Her lips were pale and she couldn’t wipe away the droplets parading down her skin. Panic ran through him. She couldn’t die.

“You are Paris to me. There has to be something I can do. What about the miracle box? Is there a healing kwami?”

“It’s gone, Chat. Don’t you remember? Don’t cry,” she breathed. The effort of speaking sent her doubled over in a fit of coughing that wracked her body. He felt as if he were the one stabbed. Slowly she reached for her earrings. Her smile was rueful. “I told you I always have a plan B. I guess now it’s time to put it into play.”

“M’lady, no!” Chat shook his head and cupped his hands firmly around hers. “Don’t do this.”

“My ladybugs can’t fix this." she gestured at herself. "You need to find a new Ladybug who can.”

“Who?” he shouted, throwing his hands up to cover his eyes. “You are irreplaceable. I...I Iov-”

“I know.” Her fingers laced through his hair. “I know, Chaton.”

He clutched those fingers as if by holding on, he could stop her from slipping away. The blood stains around her flooded and mixed with the rain in a slick pool. Even a kwami couldn’t save her now.

“I’m so sorry this happened,” he whispered. “I wasn’t fast enough. Who was it? When I get my hands on the bastard who did this, I’ll-.”

“...Chat.” Something in her tone made him pause mid-sentence. There was something she wasn't telling him, but he was suddenly afraid to hear the explanation. 

"Tell me," he breathed, although he felt with a growing sense of dread that he already knew. 

Her beautiful blue eyes pierced his, then she glanced away. “You... weren’t yourself. It was an akuma. This isn't your fault, but please, Paris needs someone else now. I...don’t have much time.”

No. For the first time, Chat looked down and truly saw. He was covered in red. His lady’s blood. His gloves. His suit. Horrified, he noticed a blade laying beside him. No. He stumbled away from her, staring at his hands. He had done this. He’d harmed the one person he’d vowed to protect above all else. His stomach churned. How could any of this be real? He had always thought that he’d be able to fight the akuma’s hold on him if he got akumatized. Never had he fathomed being capable of hurting his bug.  
"No." he murmured to himself. "This can't be happening. I want to wake up. Make it stop. Make it stop!" 

“Chat-” Ladybug fumbled with her earrings again. The effort exhausted her and she slumped back down, clutching her stomach in a gasp of pain. “Take them. For me.”

That snapped him out of his mind’s turmoil. Panic and bile rose in his throat, but he shook his head through a flood of tears. “Try not to move too much.”

“I trust you more than anyone else, Chat.” It wasn’t a confession of love, but it somehow meant more to him than if she’d poured out her heart.

“Shh, you’re going to be purrfectly fine,” he lied, frantically pressing his hands to her wound, trying to keep liquid from spilling out.

She weakly reached up and flicked the bell around his neck. “Promise me no more horrible puns around the next Ladybug.”

Oh, how those words slashed at him. He wanted to run to the side of the building and heave but instead he gritted his teeth and nodded. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

He’d never once seen her cry, but now there were tears glistening in her eyes. She grabbed his hand, pulling it away from her wound. She pressed her cheek into his palm, then guided his hand to her earrings. Chat wondered if she could feel him shaking. Alarms went off in his head. This was wrong.

So many times he’d dreamed of seeing the face of the girl he loved without the mask, but never like this. He’d give anything to be in a dream now. Instead, he was living his deepest nightmare. As his fingers closed around the first earring, Ladybug’s eyes fell shut. She let out a soft sigh and slumped into unconsciousness.

Rain and wind whipped around them, and yet it was seeing her go limp that made Chat feel cold for the first time. She looked so small and fragile, like a doll tossed aside by a petulant Manon. The strong, invincible heroine he knew was unrecognizable in her crumpled form. She looked already dead. She might be. No. Chat Noir couldn’t think of losing her or he’d lose himself too. He had to be strong for her even though everything in him was cracking. He gently scooped her into his arms, being careful not to jostle her wounds as he vaulted off of the roof.

“Everything’ll be alright.” he whispered, cradling his fallen partner. “Paris won’t fall, because I’m not letting you die, Bugaboo. I promise."

In his arms, her earrings let out one final beep, then went as silent as the weeping clouds.


	2. The Second One

Chat could feel her small form growing heavier in his arms as he desperately leapt from rooftop to rooftop. He gripped her closer but refused to check if she was still alive. She had to be. The cold was setting in and he couldn’t keep them warm out in the storm. This was all his fault. He’d never forgive himself if she...if anything happened. He touched down on a balcony and cataclysmed through a set of sliding glass doors. It was so dark and he was so disoriented that he didn’t recognize the room. He squinted, letting his catlike vision takeover. The room contained a small bed, several bookshelves, and a computer table. It looked familiar, but all that mattered to him was that it was empty. 

“Claws off,” he said, gently placing his partner on the bed and wrapping her still form in blankets to keep her warm. A bright light flashed around him and Plagg, looking weary and hungry, popped up beside him. He flew over to Ladybug and placed his tiny paw against her cheek. Then he leaned in, feeling for her breath on his whiskers. He pulled back with a furrowed brow. “Kid...what did you _ do _ to her when you were akumatized?” 

Adrien’s heart plummeted. “Is she…” He couldn’t bring himself to say the final word. 

Plagg shook his head. “Her miraculous will keep her alive as long as she wears it, but...that's about it.”

Tears welled hot in Adrien’s eyes as he looked helplessly down at Ladybug. She looked peaceful now that her wounds were covered. His mother had been in a coma following the crash. He remembered her lying in the hospital bed just like that. Like a princess in a fairy tale. There had been no happy ending for the Agreste family back then, and now his own partner might face the same fate. His teeth squeaked together as he gritted them. He couldn’t lose her too. Especially when it was all his fault. 

“Plagg, what about our miraculouses? Both of them together could-” 

“Kid, no! If you use your miraculouses together to save her….well. Let’s just say it’ll make the whole extinct dinosaur thing look like a joke.” 

“What do you mean? What would happen?” Whatever it was, Adrien could handle it, as long as his partner was back. The world needed her.

Plagg winced. “I’m not supposed to say.” 

Adrien reached out and captured Plagg from the air. His fingers were still caked so thickly with her blood that he could smell it with every breath. “Tell me,” he whispered, even though somehow he already knew the answer. 

“...Someone equally powerful would have to take her place. Ladybug knew that this could happen. She would never want you or anyone else to use the miraculouses for this.” 

Adrien ignored Plagg. He looked down at the love of his life, wishing she could wake and give him guidance. He gently placed his forehead to hers before turning his attention back to Plagg. “If I do it,” his voice was clogged and raspy. “Will she be okay?” 

“Adrien-”

“Just tell me the truth! I’m so sick of people lying to protect me.”

“She wouldn’t let you sacrifice yourself for her.”

Adrien's body felt numb. He grinned a crooked, rueful grin. Like he even_ mattered _ when weighed against saving her life. “You’ve never been in love, have you?” 

“You’re an idiot.” Plagg screeched. “More than an idiot. Who’s to say she won’t die the second you’re gone because now she has to battle Hawkmoth on her own?” 

“She’ll find another Chat Noir,” he said with a shrug. He couldn’t let the words sting him once he was committed to this plan. Couldn’t let his hands tremble as he slid his ring off of his finger and placed it on the bed, then combed his fingers through her disheveled blue hair to reveal her earrings. “I bet Luka would love to help out.” 

“That’s it.” Plagg snatched the ring and flew up out of Adrien’s grasp. "I'm taking this until you grow a brain." He zipped around the tiny room, ignoring Adrien’s shouts. Neither of them noticed the glow of lights being rapidly switched on which crawled underneath the bedroom door. And they certainly didn’t notice the pounding patter of steps rushing down the hall. 

**SLAM**

The door crashed open, and Adrien couldn’t stop a rain of bullets from pounding him to his knees. He cried out and raised his arms to protect himself and Ladybug, only to see something colorful dripping through the cracks. ...Was that...paint? 

“Get the _HELL_ out of my room, Creep!” Alya Cesaire’s voice roared from behind her paintball mask. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo I was going through my old document files and decided to finally finish chapter two! Adrien's an idiot.

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy! I was feeling angsty. Please review!


End file.
